Chapter 141: Vendor Selling Chickens Painting (2)

Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

Because Dongfang Liren was very tall and the empress dowager was relatively petite. From afar, it looked like a silver-robed prince holding his beloved concubine in his arms and walking on water.

Seeing Dumdum’s cool and agile movements, Ye Jingtang sighed in his heart, feeling that this non-biological mother-daughter relationship was really good.

But Dumdum never disappointed!

Dongfang Liren’s lightness skills were not bad, but her status meant that she couldn’t bring people along often. She had just used the Dragon Slaying Decree and consumed a lot of energy. Treading on Water, Riding Waves had extremely high requirements for body movements.

Hugging the empress dowager with one hand, Dongfang Liren tapped the lake twice. Perhaps she wanted to pay attention to her elegant posture in front of Ye Jingtang, but she was distracted, and her footsteps became noticeably heavier.

Splash!

Water splashed on the lake!

Dongfang Liren’s eyes widened.

The empress dowager, who was about to crash, hadn’t noticed Dumdum’s mistake, but Ye Jingtang could tell that they would definitely fall with a plop.

Ye Jingtang’s smile stiffened slightly. Then he rushed out of the edge of the waterside pavilion with a whoosh and approached like a black lightning bolt.

Huh? When the empress dowager saw Ye Jingtang rushing over, she was still a little puzzled. Then she suddenly realized that she was beginning to tilt and fall toward the lake. “Ah?!”

The empress dowager hurriedly hugged Dongfang Liren’s neck.

Dongfang Liren’s face instantly turned red. When she saw Ye Jingtang rushing over, she stretched out her right hand.

Pa-

Two palms clasped together!

Ye Jingtang used Treading on Water, Riding Waves. Before the two of them fell into the water, he grabbed Dongfang Liren’s right hand, pulled her up, tapped the tip of his foot on the surface of the lake, and leaped back to the edge of the waterside pavilion.

Whoosh!

Three figures rose into the air above the lake.

This moment passed very slowly.

Dongfang Liren looked into Ye Jingtang’s eyes and could clearly see the emotions in them.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk… It hurts my eyes…”

?!

It was supposed to be a very romantic scene. Dongfang Liren’s eyebrows furrowed in anger. She just wanted to kick this infuriating young master away.

The empress dowager, who had suffered a false alarm, leaned into Liren’s arms with surprise in her eyes.

Tread, tread!

The three of them landed outside the water pavilion.

Ye Jingtang let go of Dumdum’s hand and pretended that nothing had happened.

Dongfang Liren’s face flushed redder. She pretended that nothing had happened and looked at the empress dowager. “Empress Dowager, let’s go in and talk.”

Seeing the two of them pretending nothing had happened, the empress dowager naturally didn’t say anything. She waved her hand and got Hongyu, who was by the lake, to come over. “This must be Young Master Ye, right? I heard that you have extraordinary literary talent. I recently obtained a painting. Please appraise it.”

Hmm? Who did you hear that from?Ye Jingtang was baffled. He turned to look at Dongfang Liren.

Dongfang Liren knew that the empress dowager lived in the depths of the Imperial Palace and was very lonely. She could remember a small matter for a long time, so Dongfang Liren wasn’t surprised by this visit at all. She only hinted with her eyes. Praise her with ail your might!

The empress dowager walked into the waterside pavilion with a dignified bearing and sat elegantly on a meditation mat. Dongfang Liren sat beside her.

Hongyu hugged the scroll and trotted across the lotus leaf stones. She didn’t enter the waterside pavilion but just stood on a lotus leaf stone and handed the scroll to Ye Jingtang.

Ye Jingtang didn’t enter the waterside pavilion either. He stood outside the entrance and took the scroll with both hands solemnly. He unfolded it and observed it carefully. Yes… It was the painting of a man carrying the sun and moon on his shoulders that he had seen last time.

The painting should have been cropped. This time, the portrait is in the center…

“Chirp-” The bird jumped onto his shoulder curiously and sized up the painting. It tilted its head slightly, probably because it didn’t understand.

The empress dowager carefully observed Ye Jingtang’s expression and asked, “What do you think, Young Master Ye?”

Ye Jingtang didn’t have any foundation in painting and calligraphy. As long as the figure in the painting looked like a person, it wasn’t bad in his opinion. Dumdum had already hinted at him to praise it with all his might, so he definitely couldn’t say that it wasn’t good. After some thought, he said, “Well… I have humble talent and shallow learning. If my comments have any mistakes, please don’t blame me, Your Majesty.”

“Go ahead.”

“In my opinion, this painting is a top-notch work. Judging from the style, it’s an abstract… No, it’s a freehand style. The man looks like he’s looking around in a daze. There’s a three-eyed golden crow on his shoulder, which should be a metaphor for carrying the sun. The rest is blank, just like the sky. Hmm… This painting should be describing a man shouldering the blue sky and the bright sun alone, wondering why he’s not understood by the world…”

11 pii

Dongfang Liren’s eyes widened in shock. Can’t you tell that this painting is of you? What nonsense are you saying? Its over, it’s over. The empress dowager will be sad for half a year…

Hongyu, beside him, was full of surprise. Oh my, 1 didn’t expect this cold Young Master Ye to be better at flattering than me…

When the empress dowager heard these words, she understood that Ye Jingtang really couldn’t tell what she had painted. She secretly heaved a sigh of relief, and then she was unsurprisingly depressed!

Seeing that the empress dowager was getting more and more unhappy, Dongfang Liren hurriedly interrupted with a dignified expression, “Ye Jingtang, it’s not appropriate for you to praise yourself like that, right?”

Praise myself?Ye Jingtang stopped talking abruptly and looked at the portrait again… Could this be me? It really seems like it…

There is a saber hanging at the waist, and this should be a bird on the shoulder…

Ye Jingtang tilted his head slightly while the bird tilted its head almost 180 degrees. It was probably thinking about how it and that ball looked alike.

Fortunately, Ye Jingtang’s reaction wasn’t slow. He was shocked, but he still nodded slowly on the surface. “No wonder. 1 was wondering why it looked familiar. Hmm… Your Majesty’s painting is too lofty. I’m just a commoner with the ambition of a sparrow. 1 really don’t dare to associate it with me…”

This time, the empress dowager could tell that Ye Jingtang didn’t mean what he said at all. She raised her hand and said, “Since your evaluation of it is so high, I will give you this painting. I hope that one day, you can shoulder the blue sky and the bright sun and become a pillar of Great Wei.”

Ye Jingtang felt that he should be flattered. “Thanks for the reward, Your Majesty.”

Dongfang Liren secretly waved her hand. “Remember to take care of the empress dowager’s treasured painting when you go back. If it’s ruined, it’s a crime of beheading. Alright, go do your work. I will summon you again if 1 have something for you to do.”

“I shall take my leave, Your Majesty, Your Highness!” Ye Jingtang felt relieved. After bowing and rolling up the scroll, he quickly left the waterside pavilion.

The bird was very polite. It stood on Ye Jingtang’s shoulder, turned around, and raised its wing. “Chirp-”

Dongfang Liren raised her hand to bid farewell.

The empress dowager’s eyes brightened slightly, but when she realized that this little pet wasn’t hers, she didn’t say anything.

After Ye Jingtang disappeared, the empress dowager’s eyes revealed resentment as she glanced at Dongfang Liren.

Dongfang Liren caressed the empress dowager’s back gently. “1 think your painting is very good. He’s a boorish person, so how can he know how to appreciate paintings? Empress Dowager, don’t take it to heart…”

The empress dowager had been thinking about it for a month, but no one could recognize what she had drawn. She really felt terrible. “I’m not stupid. Find someone to teach me how to paint. If this person can’t teach me well, hmph…”

“Alright, 1’11 go look for candidates immediately…”